Members of a Central Ohio contingent are doing more than working on their suntans this week at the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia.

Instead, Columbus Partnership CEO Alex Fischer, Columbus Chamber of Commerce Chairman Jack Partridge and five others are laying some of the groundwork for the 2013 Presidents Cup that will be played at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin.

In a conference call from Melbourne, Fischer, Partridge and company told me they are taking notes and starting to spread the good word about the Columbus region to all the international movers and shakers attending the four-day golf match. It pits the best U.S. players against a top international team every other year.

“This will be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put Columbus on the map,” said Partridge, whose day job is president of Columbia Gas of Ohio.

He and others in the Columbus group emphasized the importance of the attention Central Ohio will get from a golf event broadcast in more than 200 countries through 16 television networks. Tourney action will be beamed into more than 600 million households.

“It’s really about international exposure for our community,” said Fischer, noting about 30 percent of the economic prospects on his recruitment list are international in nature.

He already has toured a university and Battelle-like research and development center in Melbourne. The Columbus group also hosted a get-together for more than 150 media members and has a lunch scheduled Saturday with some U.S. golf honchos and Australian government officials.

Linda Logan, executive director of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, made the trip. She is focused on how Melbourne is doing things on the hospitality front, and she’s thinking about how hosting the Presidents Cup will serve as another example that Central Ohio can put on big-time sporting events.

“It’s great to be back stage,” Logan said, “and learn how this works and bring best practices back home.”

Also on the trip is Memorial Tournament Executive Director Dan Sullivan, who is heavily involved in preparations for the 2013 Presidents Cup.

“We want to make sure we speak through one voice,” he said, “and showcase everything significant in the region. We have an opportunity to tell the world what a great place the Columbus region is to live, work and host events of this magnitude.”